Swish Transport Report 2016

Swish is committed to continuous improvement in the environmental performance of its delivery fleet in order to minimise its impact on the environment.

In order to do this we monitor the number of miles that our delivery vehicles cover and the fuel that they consume over that distance. We can then tell how efficient we are in our delivery operations and as a result monitor the effect of strategies we put in place to reduce our fuel usage.

To achieve the considerable efficiencies since 2008 we have put in place some carefully monitored actions:

The Swish transport fleet is regularly updated to continue to take advantage of improvements in vehicle emission levels and fuel usage. Our main fleet is Euro5 compliant but in June 2015 we took delivery of Euro6 compliant trucks which are extremely efficient and in the autumn of 2017 we will replace half the fleet with more efficient Euro6 compliant vehicles.

All our vehicles are regularly maintained to a high standard ensuring that they all perform at their optimum

Because our fleet is so efficient we use our own vehicles on longer routes and use subcontract vehicles only when necessary.

We monitor load utilisation and have invested in software to maximise loads and reduce mileage.

We train all our drivers to help them improve fuel usage and on our new vehicles we will have driver assist information to advise drivers in real time on optimum driving techniques to reduce fuel consumption.

Some of our vehicles have had their maximum speed lowered in order to reduce fuel consumption.

Diesel usage presented a real challenge in 2015. During that year the Telford warehouse was closed and all operations brought to Swish’s Tamworth site. Deliveries from the Telford warehouse had not previously been counted in our figures but were added in 2015 making that period’s results look less favourable.

However in 2016 we saw an excellent reduction in diesel usage of nearly 6% on 2015. Plans are in place for 2017 to improve mpg across the fleet with continued driver training and by replacing at least part of the fleet with Euro 6 compliant vehicles. We will also be seeking to better 2016’s load efficiency or utilisation level of 88% and the litres per bundle figure whilst looking to reduce vehicle incidents and damages.

In 2015 we began to monitor the diesel used by company cars and measure this against production tonnage. As a result we were able to say that in 2016 the CO2 output from this source reduced by 20%.

Elements

2016 Actual

Change since 2008

2017 Target

Moving Impacts (Transportation)

Transport Vehicle Fuel, LPG

-5.92%

-17.2%

-2%

Company Vehicle Fuel

Diesel used by company cars

-19.7%

N/A

N/A

In 2017 16 new vehicles will be acquired and rerouting investigated in order to maximise our delivery efficiency. In addition we are currently monitoring harsh braking and cornering.

In accordance with its transport policy, Swish has now asked its suppliers to start reporting on mileage, fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts associated with their deliveries to Swish. This has been done in order to encourage suppliers to undertake continual improvements in the efficiency of their transportation arrangements

The data from this exercise is still being collated at the time of publishing. Swish does not wish to reveal its supplier names but the following information can be supplied.